December 24 -- We arrived on the island of Curacao

Con and I are vacationing on this once Dutch island for ten days before flying to Panama where we will live for three months. Since we're only allowed 90 days in Panama as Canadians, we looked for another place to hang our hat as our condo booking is from January 2 - March 31, 2017. Curacao is located in the southern Caribbean Sea in what's known as the Dutch Caribbean Sea, just 65 km from the coast of Venezuela. Dutch is one of their three learned languages as well as Spanish and English. Papiamentu is usually spoken at home, and is a mix of Portuguese, Spanish, and American Indian.

We walked into Willemstad, a beautiful old city full of colour. The Pietermaai area was an uninhabited strip of Caribbean a few centuries ago where rich ship owners and ship captains built mansions. The 1877 massive hurricane took a good portion of the area and many people abandoned the area and it fell into disrepair. There shouldn't be hurricanes this far south. Today, tourism has energized the area breathing new life into it. We walked through the Scharloo district was where the rich and well-to-do Sephardic Jews settled (they're from the Iberian coast of Spain). Following the waterfront, we sauntered beside the colourful floating market asking the merchants to describe some of the strange fruits, like the enormous avocados. They sell their fruits and veggies on the sidewalk under awnings beside their boats.

December 31st -- Happy New Year Curacao Style
At 2 pm, as tradition, the patrons and staff gathered in front of our hotel for champagne and oliebollen (deep fried donut) and then they lit the firecrackers -- one million of them! They stretched out 500 meters and the whole thing took five minutes. I'd never seen or heard anything like it in my life. When the first firecracker cracked, instinct had me grab the nearest person (by the back of his shirt) to hide behind. He (the stranger) didn't mind. Con didn't flinch and filmed the whole thing.  The video right gives you a mini peek at the event.

December 29 -- From our balcony
It’s a beautiful lush island, with Dutch architecture (like a mini Amsterdam but FULL of colour). It's hard to believe there's crime here when the birds are singing and flowers blooming, but most houses are secured with bars, and some stores are locked, and you ring a bell to enter. The corner stores have counters where you tell the proprietor, who is behind locked bars, what you want. He slips the goods under the bars. On our first day shopping (to stock our kitchenette) the proprietor unlocked the bars and let us freely shop, but locked us in while we did it. The cost of things seems high, but probably because we're spoiled having lived in Greece for the past seven years or so. It’s one of those barter-for-the-price places here, my least favourite way to shop. We wanted goggles and after checking the price in a tourist's store, I put them back on the shelf. The smiling lady offered, "Is the price too high? We can negotiate."
I returned her smile, "Too much work. Thanks anyway." It’s hot and I can think of better ways to exert my energy.
The resort is laid back. There are two ocean swim areas with man-made break water protection. The ocean where we are is so deep that the ships waiting to come into the port just drift west all day and then slowly motor back to the east until the tug boats come to get them and tow them into Willemstad's port, less than a kilometer from our resort. Our one-bedroom apartment is super comfy, with an enormous balcony mostly shaded throughout the day. The birds begin singing their beautiful songs about 6 am. We have a few regulars who come to our balcony and look us over like, "What are you doing in our territory!"
Last night, we enjoyed another dinner in the outdoor restaurant. It’s expensive, but exquisite. The dishes arrive at our table like pieces of art. While revelling in each bite of our appetizers (a tuna tartar for me and steak tartar for Con) a tropical squall ran ramped through the restaurant leaving just a few square meters from which to sit without being drenched. After a quick relocation, we were positioned in one of the dry spots. The storms come fast and leave fast. This morning, we returned to our delightful balcony just as another late-for-the-season squall hit the hotel again. We loved it! The moment was dominated by the sounds of heavy raindrops bouncing off the enormous tropical-leafed plants just below us. A moment later, the sun returned along with the singing birds. (Squall video left.)